Sohail Gandhi

Just an old country doctor

University of Toronto Medical School, Class 1990
Chief Resident 1991
Certificante of College of Family Physicians of Canada 1992
Medical Staff Executive, Collingwood General and Marine Hospital 1993-1996
Chief of Family Practice, Collingwood General and Marine Hospital 1996-1999
Coroner for Ontario 2001 - ongoing
Fellowship in Family Medicine, College of Family Physicians of Canada, 2002
Founding Physician Georgian Bay Family Health Network 2004
Chair of Board, Georgian Bay Family Health Team - 2007-2013
Academic appointments - University of Toronto (Lecturer in Medicine), McMaster University (Assistant Clinical Professor), Queen's University (Assistant Clinical Professor).
Winner - Regional Family Physician of the Year (Ontario College of Family Physicians) - 2011
Winner - Queen's Diamond Jubilee Award - 2013
Section of General and Family Practice Executive, OMA - 2016 to current

Currently, the Hoskins/Bell legacy is not a pretty one. It's one of internecine disputes with doctors, laid-off nurses, hospital deficits, patients in stretchers for days and egregious wait times. At least with family medicine, they have an opportunity to begin to correct this mess.

I can see that we are once again heading for the same situation as the late 1990s/early 2000s, when many medical trainees stopped going into comprehensive family medicine. The reasons then were due to increased workload, better opportunities in other specialties and an extremely poor relationship with the government of the day. To suggest that there was a crisis in family medicine would be dramatically understating the issue.

This past weekend, the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), held its bi-annual council meeting. The council is the governing body of the OMA and sets policy for the organization. It was clear from the enthusiasm and the passion exhibited that the OMA has turned a new leaf.

Last week, the Ontario Liberal Government released the specifics of the 2017-2018 Budget. From a health care perspective, what became startlingly evident, was that the Liberals seem to be unable to comprehend exactly how the health care system functions. They are seemingly unable or unwilling to look at the big picture when trying to solve problems.

Kathleen Wynne may very well owe Unilateral Eric big for making her premier. But if Wynne is serious about governing the province properly, her next step must be to shuffle the most disastrous health minister Ontario has had in recent memory out of his portfolio.

Last week, two health care stories in the news that got relatively little attention illustrated exactly what is wrong with the direction health care is taking in Ontario, under the leadership of its hapless Health Minister Eric Hoskins, and beleaguered Premier Kathleen Wynne.

There are repeated references in the media to this being a coup or a hostile takeover of some sort. Even the word "insurgency" has been used. This was not due to a small radical group of the dissidents. More than likely, your own doctor supported this change.

The growing awareness that something is seriously, and fundamentally wrong with the health-care system is sure to envelop Minister Hoskins this year. Maybe then he'll stop playing politics, and actually work in true partnership with all health-care workers, to deliver the improvements our health-care system so badly needs.

For Christmas, all Ontario doctors asked for was a brief respite from the toxic relationship between them and the Ontario Government of Premier Kathleen Wynne. They realized it would be too much to ask for an acceptable Physician Services Agreement after three years without one, but a couple of weeks without internecine politicking would have been welcome this holiday season.

Last week, physicians in Ontario were stunned to hear that one of their colleagues, who by all accounts was a bright vivacious woman, had died, allegedly due to domestic abuse, or Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) as it's now called. She leaves behind young children, and a legacy of kindness, health care advocacy and caring.